SANEM started an event for students from April 2019, called “Youthonomics”, with the belief in mind that engaging the youth in an intellectual and academic discussion is essential for developing a more informed and rational society. It is a monthly essay writing competition for the youth, that reflects their economic thoughts. Through Youthonomics, SANEM encourages young writers to voice their views and opinions on socio-economic issues. SANEM awards prize money and certificates to the winners of each episode of Youthonomics.
The 4th episode of Youthonomics was held in July 2019. The topic of Youthonomics 4 was “Youth’s Perspective on Budget 2019-20”. In their articles, participants presented their assessment of the drawbacks of the Budget of Fiscal Year 2019-20, positive aspects of the budget and their opinion on relevant issues regarding the budget. The Parliament of Bangladesh passed the Tk 523,190 crore national budget for the fiscal year 2019-20, themed as “Bangladesh on a Pathway to Prosperity: Time is Ours, Time for Bangladesh” on June 13, 2019. With a record size, the budget focused on developing communications infrastructure and human resources and achieving 8.2% GDP growth. The notable positive initiatives were pension scheme for all, insurance coverage for government employees, wealth tax, additional tax on the registration for vehicles, incentives for remittances, and tax office in every upazila.A number of economists in their immediate reactions pointed out that the budget 2019-20 was growth-friendly and set ambitious goals but shied away from addressing the key challenges confronting the economy. “We expect clear guidelines and plans from the government how this budget is going to be implemented, given the fact that weak implementation of budget has become a norm in recent years,” said Selim Raihan, executive director of the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling. With the poor structure of the tax system and laws, it was not possible to increase the tax-GDP ratio significantly within the next couple of years, he had said. However, the goals of Annual Development Project must be in accordance with the target of realizing vision 2021, achieving SDG goals by 2030 and becoming a developed country by 2041.
The winners of episode 4 were:
- 1st place: Rakib Hossain, Department of Development Studies, University of Dhaka
- 2nd place: Fariha Ahmed, Department of Development Studies, University of Dhaka
- 3rd place: Shithee Ahmed, Department of Development Studies, Bangladesh University of Professionals
The prizes were distributed among the winners at SANEM office.
